Vijay unveils welfare push within hours of taking oath as Tamil Nadu CM

Hours after taking oath as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, C. Joseph Vijay announced two major decisions of his new government — 200 units of free electricity for households and the formation of the “SingaPen” Special Task Force — signalling an aggressive start to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) administration’s welfare and governance agenda.

Soon after the swearing-in ceremony at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai, Vijay signed key official files in the presence of senior bureaucrats and cabinet ministers, marking the first executive actions of the new government.

The actor-turned-politician was sworn in earlier in the day by governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar amid loud cheers from thousands of party workers, supporters and film fans gathered at the venue.

Taking the oath in the name of C. Joseph Vijay, the TVK chief formally assumed office following one of the most dramatic political transitions in Tamil Nadu’s recent history.

Vijay came to power after TVK emerged as the single largest party in the recently concluded assembly elections by securing 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly. Although the party fell short of the majority mark of 118, it later secured support from the Indian National Congress, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), taking the alliance strength to 120 MLAs.

The swearing-in ceremony was conducted amid unprecedented security arrangements across Chennai. Only around 6,000 invitees were allowed entry into the stadium through special passes as Chennai City Police enforced multi-layered security under the supervision of the police commissioner.

Authorities deployed five additional commissioners and 12 joint commissioners to oversee security, crowd management and VIP movement around the venue.

The ceremony witnessed the presence of several prominent political leaders, alliance partners and film personalities from across the country. Rahul Gandhi, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, attended the event alongside senior alliance leaders.

Vijay’s parents — veteran filmmaker S.A. Chandrasekhar and Shoba Chandrasekhar — were among the special invitees seated in the front row.

Along with Vijay, nine ministers — N. Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, Dr K.G. Arunraj, K.A. Sengottaiyan, P. Venkataramanan, R. Nirmalkumar, Rajmohan, Dr T.K. Prabhu and S. Keerthan — also took oath as members of the new Cabinet.

The formation of the TVK government marks a historic turning point in Tamil Nadu politics, ending decades of uninterrupted dominance by the DMK and AIADMK and ushering in a new political era under Vijay’s leadership.

With IANS inputs